They practice silence and rarely leave the monastery. Some maintain a strict observance focused on prayer and contemplation. Many monastic orders base their lives on the Rule of Saint Benedict. Over the course of two weeks they chant all 150 psalms. Trujillo said the community's median age is between 55 and 60.įive of the gatherings are for the Liturgy of the Hours, in which they pray the Psalter. Those who have been in the order longest sit in the back. "It's just this ongoing flow that we jump into when it's our turn." This prayer is constantly going on," Love said. (Love also cares for the bell tower.) When they sound, nearly 50 brother monks go to the chapel. "Curator is what keeps me busy and keeps me out of trouble," Love said. He wants to raise the bar with respect to how the Abbey museum interprets and exhibits its collection." "He isn't content just to be a custodian of curiosities. "A singular kind of devotion permeates everything he does, including his curatorial responsibilities at the Abbey," Catherine Alexander, former curator at Bush Barn Art Center, said. He's building a digital database for the inventory he hopes will be a tool for public scholarship. Some have volunteered time, teaching him to handle, catalog, photograph and store the artifacts and art properly. Love consulted staff members from Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem Art Association and the Bush Barn Art Center. "It's not something he's going to be able to be on top of in a year. This is certainly a challenge," Trujillo said. ![]() "Brother Andre is not one to balk a challenge. "My main job is to try to interpret all of this and come up with some sort of theme of how it fits the mission of the monastery," Love said. He consolidated the abbey's art into a separate basement. He discovered pockets of art stored across the campus in attics and basements. Love separated the artifacts and museum items from the paintings and art. Others have been recorded in an old card catalog that was a good effort but is outdated. Since the19th century, people have been bequeathing collections to the monastery. "If you don't weed it, you get some crazy plants." There's even a gourd carved by Walt Disney. Storage shelves are packed with statues of saints, Japanese artifacts, oil lamps and preserved snakes and puffer fish. ![]() The abbey's collection is overwhelming and eclectic containing a taxidermy collection of North American animals and pottery from before the birth of Christ. When the curator was transferred to Portland, Love realized that the collection needed care and stepped up. "I was supposed to unlock the doors and clean the toilet," Love said. In 2010, Mount Angel's monastic leadership made Love assistant to the curator of the abbey's museum. "With an idea that this is a option, not part of my options but an option for somebody." "I stayed the weekend, had a wonderful time and then kind of went away," Love said. "The checking out worked both ways," Trujillo said. Love spent the weekend learning about the Benedictine way of life. "We welcome everybody to those discernment retreats." ![]() ![]() "We tried not to be judgmental looking at his appearance, but it certainly makes an impression," Trujillo said. Prior of Mount Angel Abbey Vincent Trujillo remembers that moment. "I rode up here on my motorcycle and was just like, 'What?' They were doing the same. "One of the first things I did was I got my knuckles and my neck tattooed, because back in those days, in the late 80s and early 90s, we called them 'job stoppers.' You are completely unemployable once you get your hands and your neck tattooed."Īs he dismounted his bike at the discernment retreat, he was aware of the images on his skin and the absurdity of his arrival. I was going to make my living as an artist, and I wasn't going to compromise," Love said. "I made a commitment to live by my brushes. "One of my biggest fears is being a cliche," Love said.Īs a child, Love rebelled against his successful father, a successful businessman who didn't think art was a real career. With tattoos on his hands, arms and neck, he looked like an extra on "Sons of Anarchy" not a someone attending a retreat for those who might become Catholic monks. Love removed his helmet revealing pierced ears and a mop of dreadlocks. Six years ago, Mount Angel Abbey's serene hilltop campus shook, as leather-clad Bobby Love rolled in on his motorcycle.
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